Blog Post

A short piece in the June 16th Information Week titled Get A Handle On Risk reports on new Web-based self-assessment software offered by J.P. Morgan Chase to help companies comply with the regulatory requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley. I was intrigued by this since it sounded like the bank was offering an online service that has elements of legal advice.

A J.P. Morgan Chase press release dated June 10th states that “Horizon helps management document the controls established to mitigate risk, evaluate the effectiveness of business units’ compliance with defined controls, identify areas of risk which lack control procedures, and establish and monitor control action plans. By understanding the organization’s risk profile, management can make more informed strategic and expenditure decisions.”

It would be interesting to learn how much “legal” content Horizon offers. Perhaps the route to online legal services will not be through law firms, but through companies such as J.P. Morgan Chase where managing legal issues is just part of the ordinary course of business. I wonder if there is still an opportunity for law firms to offer clients an interactive, web-based service to help them comply with Sarbanes-Oxley.